Vintage Rolex magazine ads

[conmcn]

Hi

This is my first post so please be gentle with me and apologies if this is not in the correct thread!

I am interested in vintage Rolex adverts from the 1950s onwards and particularly the 1970s. I was wondering if anyone knows which year and month of magazines such as National Geographic have Submariner, Sea Dweller and Explorer I & II adverts? I am hoping to get a few framed for my study and don't want to buy up a load of magazines I don't need / want.

I have trawled online but can't seem to find anything specific so if anyone on here can help I would really appreciate it. Please feel free to post any vintage Rolex ads you have in your collection.

Many thanks

[amh]

Not to be that guy... Ok I'll be that guy: Just google for it. Hundreds of examples pop up.

[PepsiBezel]

Try Ad Patina.

[S’portEye]

Google “1970 Rolex Ad” and then hit “images” at the top. Easy

[conmcn]

When I google 'Rolex adverts 1970s' I get hundreds of images but no specific details of the exact magazine it was taken from. I want to buy the original magazine not reproduce the advert from google images

[conmcn]

Originally Posted by HarryFlashman

Try Ad Patina.

Thanks I had a look but their ads are listed at $100 and up each! I am hoping to find the year and month of the publication and buy the magazine on eBay for £5. I know I am miserable

[S’portEye]

I see some on ebay. Going for $20-30 US.

[brandrea]

Welcome to the forum

Jakes Rolex World as a lot of good resources and you can search by year

https://www.rolexmagazine.com/

[conmcn]

Thanks for the link brandrea. I had a read on the site with some very interesting articles. Unfortunately the NG watch ads don't give specific details of when they were issued apart from the July 1954 for the Sea dweller. It was only an idea to dress the drab walls of my study up a bit. I will buy a load of magazines and see what happens for a bit of fun. I thought there would be loads of people in the community collecting these vintage watch ads.

[EzraPound]

If you are interested in 1950 Rolex advertisements one source not often mentioned is Graphis magazine which featured Rolex advertisements from the mid-1940s through the 1950s. To the best of my knowledge these are all the Rolex advertisements from Graphis magazine (I put the pictures together once for a project I worked on). Advertisements appear multiple times as some advertisements appeared in multiple Graphis magazine issues.

Edit: the advertisements appear in the order of the Graphis magazine issues in which the advertisements appeared; IIRC the advertisements span 1944-1960.

[conmcn]

Wow those are awesome thanks for sharing EzraPound, there are quite a few I hadn't seen before

[conmcn]

I bought a few joblots of Time (mid 1960s) and National Geographic magazines from the 1990s. If I come across some adverts I will post them and the date of publication if anyone is interested. These magazines are incredibly cheap if bought in bulk and will be an interesting read. I quite like the idea of taking a punt in the dark and seeing what comes up. Thanks to everyone for their comments and help its much appreciated.

[Nanasaka90]

Originally Posted by HarryFlashman

Try Ad Patina.

Two thumbs up for Ad Patina.


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[Old Expat Beast]

There are some larger shots of the Eric Fraser adverts shown above here: https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...1&postcount=12

[EzraPound]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

There are some larger shots of the Eric Fraser adverts shown above here: https://www.rolexforums.com/showpost...1&postcount=12

Here is an article on the Eric Fraser Rolex advertisements (most people will find the article long and boring)... article

[Gerry62]

by Emma Luxardo.

A wonderful book from the birth of Rolex to the 90s

[conmcn]

That looks the business Nanasaka90! To be honest I kind of like the thrill of the hunt as much as the adverts themselves. Its just something else to obsess over and collect

Gerry62 I am googling that book now and am going to hunt a copy down. Has anyone got a copy of Sea Time and if so is it any good?

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by EzraPound

Here is an article on the Eric Fraser Rolex advertisements (most people will find the article long and boring)... article

Spectacular work, very well done

[uhren917]

Great information, thanks for sharing!

[Gerry62]

Originally Posted by conmcn

That looks the business Nanasaka90! To be honest I kind of like the thrill of the hunt as much as the adverts themselves. Its just something else to obsess over and collect

Gerry62 I am googling that book now and am going to hunt a copy down. Has anyone got a copy of Sea Time and if so is it any good?

[conmcn]

The 7 years under the sea Eric Fraser illustration from 1953/4 is just simply amazing. Thanks for sharing EzraPound

[EzraPound]

Originally Posted by conmcn

The 7 years under the sea Eric Fraser illustration from 1953/4 is just simply amazing. Thanks for sharing EzraPound

You can find the 7 Years Under the Sea among other places in issue # 56 (1954) Graphis magazine.

[conmcn]

Thanks EzraPound I will keep an eye out for it

[conmcn]

I am also a big fan of the Picasso illustration on the front cover!

[tgyberg]

Love those ads! I have some great vintage BMW ads also

[dr.ns23]

I love vintage ads, and I try to collect as much as I can. I searched every where for magazine issues in which I can find nice watch ads but it was very difficult. The best solution is to either buy a lot of magazines and try your luck or to buy specific ads from ebay or Ad Patina. The Royal Oak ad in the pics below is from Ad Patina (he is a great guy by the way) and the rest I was able to find them on ebay.
Good luck with your search and share with us your findings!

This is how the wall started when I first moved to the house
Asset 1.jpg

and this is how it looks like now: with more books/catalogues/magazines and more steel (watch related) figures.
Asset 2.jpg

[conmcn]

Originally Posted by dr.ns23

I love vintage ads, and I try to collect as much as I can. I searched every where for magazine issues in which I can find nice watch ads but it was very difficult. The best solution is to either buy a lot of magazines and try your luck or to buy specific ads from ebay or Ad Patina. The Royal Oak ad in the pics below is from Ad Patina (he is a great guy by the way) and the rest I was able to find them on ebay.
Good luck with your search and share with us your findings!

This is how the wall started when I first moved to the house
Attachment 1295730

and this is how it looks like now: with more books/catalogues/magazines and more steel (watch related) figures.
Attachment 1295731

That's the kind of thing I am after. I am leaning towards the 'If you were....' ads but also like the Comex and Rolex ambassador ads from the 1980s and 1990s. I will see what comes in the post in the next few days. I have only spent around £40 on 27 magazines so if I turn up a few ads I will be happy. The magazines that don't contain any will be put back up on eBay for someone else.

[conmcn]

My favourite is the Submariner one on the bottom left of your photo '.... it seems to work pretty well at any level.' Classic 1960s advertising with a distinct nod to James Bond.

[thefollandgnat]

Originally Posted by EzraPound

You can find the 7 Years Under the Sea among other places in issue # 56 (1954) Graphis magazine.

I wonder whether one can still travel to the offices of the Rolex Watch Company in Switzerland and inspect that remarkable letter written by Mr D. F. Pawson.

[EzraPound]

Originally Posted by thefollandgnat

I wonder whether one can still travel to the offices of the Rolex Watch Company in Switzerland and inspect that remarkable letter written by Mr D. F. Pawson.

Carl Djerassi (one of the inventors of the modern birth-control pill) in his autobiography "claims" he traveled to Rolex in 1955 and saw the binder of letters...screenshot from the Eric Fraser Rolex article.

Note: the "7 years under the sea" advertisement was also referred to as "under Greek waters" in some magazines.